WASHINGTON – Six companies have signed onto the Obama Administration’s National Clean Fleets Partnership, according to a news release, which means each company will work with the Department of Energy (DOE) to develop strategies to reduce gasoline and diesel use in their fleets.

The following companies have joined the effort and are focusing on the following fuel-saving initiatives:

Coca-Cola, which the DOE said has the largest hybrid delivery fleet in North America, has deployed hybrid delivery trucks and trained drivers in eco-driving techniques.The DOE said the company also expects to deploy additional hydraulic hybrid vehicles this year.

Enterprise Holdings, which includes Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo Car Rent A Car, National Car Rental, and WeCar, currently offers Chevrolet Volts and Nissan Leafs to consumers for rentals and expects to expand its fleet, according to DOE.

General Electric has committed to converting half of its global vehicle fleet and will partner with fleet customers to deploy a total of 25,000 electric vehicles by 2015, DOE stated.

Ryder celebrated the opening of its first natural gas vehicle maintenance facility, which will deploy hundreds of heavy-duty liquefied natural gas (LNG) trucks, include two LNG fueling stations and two additional maintenance facilities. This project is expected to save 1.5 million gallons of diesel fuel per year, according to DOE.

Staples has increased the fuel economy of its fleet by more than 20 percent since 2007 through fuel-saving steps such as automatically limiting truck idling to no more than 3 minutes and limiting the top speed of its vehicles to 60 miles an hour. The company is also in the process of testing all-electric delivery trucks in Ohio and California.

Osram Sylvania aims to replace 10-12 percent of its fleet annually with more energy-efficient vehicles. This year, DOE said the company will replace more than one-fifth of its utility trucks with more efficient ones that reduce the need for idling.

In addition to the members announced above, the National Clean Fleets Partnership includes charter members AT&T, FedEx, PepsiCo/Frito-Lay, UPS, and Verizon. The partnership is part of DOE’s Vehicle Technology Program's Clean Cities initiative.

Used Truck Sales Volumes Fall in Response to Lack of Available Inventory

COLUMBUS, IN – Challenged by a lack of available inventory, sales volumes of used trucks fell in all sales channels during May, according to ACT Research Co. (ACT). Sales volumes were down approximately 15% from April’s level.

The update on the used market was reported in the latest release of the State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3-8 Used Trucks, published by ACT Research. ACT also reported that average miles for vehicles as well as prices in the used market both continued to increase.

“While used inventory continues to be tight, the industry should see some relief in supply and pricing as new truck sales improve,” said Steve Tam, vice president-commercial vehicle sector with ACT. “Due to new truck buyers holding on to their equipment longer, used truck mileage continues to trend upward. Vehicle age and mileage are expected to increase throughout 2011,” added Tam.

The report from ACT provides data on the average used price for the top-selling Class 8 model for each of the major truck OEM’s – Freightliner (Daimler); Kenworth and Peterbilt (Paccar); International (Navistar); and Volvo and Mack (Volvo). For, please go to http://www.actresearch.net ACT is the worldwide leading publisher of new and used commercial vehicle (CV) industry data, market analysis and forecasting services for the North American market, as well as the U.S. tractor-trailer market and the China CV market. ACT’s CV services are used by all major North American truck and trailer manufacturers and their suppliers, as well as the banking and investment community.

June 28, 2011 (ENS) - Four Mid-Atlantic States announced that they are teaming up to offer a generous program aimed at replacing old, polluting drayage trucks.

Led by the University of Maryland and the Mid- Atlantic Regional Air Management Association, the new program seeks to double the impact of a federal cash-for-clunkers-style program with public and voluntary private contributions.

The Mid-Atlantic Dray Truck Replacement Program will offer $15,000 to short-haul truckers to cover the down-payment on a new vehicle. The program is also helping arrange financing for the truckers. Over the next two years, it could replace hundreds of the most polluting delivery trucks in the region.

"We no longer want our ports to be the place where old trucks go to die," said Joanne Throwe, director of the University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center, which is coordinating the new effort. "It's not just the air around the port that suffers - it's the routes the trucks follow throughout the region."

The Ports of Virginia, Baltimore, Wilmington and Philadelphia, with support from their states, are chipping in to add dollars to a $3.3 million base grant from the U.S. EPA.

All together, the program will match the EPA support dollar-for-dollar with a combination of public and private money. Already, the organizers have lined up more than $400,000 in public support. More is pending, and they are expecting financial commitments from the industry as well.

In the first year, Throwe hopes to raise approximately $1.5 million in public and private money to extend the impact of the EPA grant.

In a separate program, the board of commissioners for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on May 31 expanded eligibility of older drayage trucks that can be replaced under its Truck Replacement Program to include trucks with model year engines 2003 or older. The Port Authority has received $8.57 million in grant funding to assist with implementation of the program.

Vocational truck owners hoping to be among the first to get behind the wheel of the new Cat® CT660 Vocational Truck have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when Caterpillar launches its “Win a Cat Truck” contest on August 1, 2011.

One lucky winner, chosen through online voting, will be presented with a brand-new CT660—the first model in a full line of Cat On-Highway Vocational Trucks designed and built to deliver the reliability, durability and low cost of ownership customers have come to expect from Caterpillar.

Entering the “Win a Cat Truck” contest is simple. Individuals must submit a video, essay or audio recording describing the vocational application in which they work and explaining how owning a new Cat CT660 will make them more successful. Submissions will be accepted at DriveCat.com between August 1 and September 30.

“We hope people will have fun with their entries,” said George Taylor, Director of Caterpillar Global On-Highway Truck Group. “Some entrants may want to show us their work environments, their existing trucks or their plans for the new CT660. Others may choose to get their families and coworkers involved or prove they’re Caterpillar’s number-one fan. We’re excited to see how creative people get with their submissions.”

According to Taylor, creativity is important because online voting ultimately will determine the winner. Between October 1 and October 15, visitors to DriveCat.com will be able to view all the submissions and vote for their favorite. On November 1, the entrant who receives the most online votes will be named the grand prize winner—and will receive a new Cat Truck. The winner will choose either a CT660 dump truck or day cab tractor painted in Cat Yellow.

Additional information about the “Win a Cat Truck” contest—including entry requirements, complete contest rules and qualifications, and more—is available at DriveCat.com.

ROSEVILLE, Minn.— Horton, Inc., a leading provider of premium engine cooling solutions worldwide, celebrates its 60th anniversary in September 2011. From its humble beginnings with three employees and no machines, in 1951, the Horton of today has an international presence and state-of-the-art technical centers for development and testing that include specialized test cells, a dynamometer with ram air provisions, a wind tunnel and a cooling system simulator.

The company’s colorful history dates back to 1902. The original company, which got its start making wagon bodies, was liquidated before its rebirth in 1951. Then Hugh K. Schilling and some investor associates purchased the seemingly minor remnants of the dismantled company – two unexpired patents on variable-speed clutch pulleys, and a list of unfilled orders for customers who hadn’t heard from Horton in months.

After struggling to market the existing products and develop new ones, Schilling and his associates hit pay dirt in 1960 with Air Champ®, the first air-engaged clutch and brake on the market. The Air Champ product line has stood the test of time and is still a reliable technology used in a wide variety of industrial applications. This product line and other motion control, power transmission and web tension control components and products are now manufactured and marketed by Nexen Group, Inc., which is owned and operated by Hugh’s son, Hugh Schilling, Jr.

“We overcame inherited problems, and worked to develop progressive products for the industrial drive and brake business,” says Schilling. “We increased the company’s product line and customer base, which was key to our renaissance and success.”

Quick Read!

Good content management software can not only make your life easier, but it can save you time, money, and above all save you from the headache of manually updating your site or outsourcing changes. Here are seven ways it can benefit your business, no matter level of technical knowledge you possess.

1.) No need for a B.S. in C.S. to update your site. Programming and markup languages can seem very foreign unless you have studied computer science or a related field.This can create a barrier between you and your site. With a CMS, the need to know these languages is eliminated. Content management software is tailored to the needs of non-technical people, using boxes, text ,or symbols that are easily recognized to help you update your site instantly.

2.) A professional looking site has consistency. Anyone who has surfed the Web knows that inconsistencies in Web sites can make it seem as though they were created by a 5-year-old. Design, layout, format, and color changes that were initially created to draw attention to a page can actually serve as a distraction to the site's initial purpose.Content management software makes standardization easy; designs, text sizes, fonts, formats, and layouts can be created consistently throughout the site.However, standardizing does not mean your site will be generic or boring. Creative design combined with a CMS and an effective online marketing campaign will ensure your site's success.

3.) Dynamic up-to-date sites are created. If the information is outdated on a Web page, the site will appear stagnant. A CMS eliminates the wait time when needing to update. A CMS allows you to instantly post up-to-the-minute news and information about your company. You may also have the opportunity for rotating articles and images in your pages, so your site is constantly changing even if you don't have time to update as often as you would like.

4.) Save your business a substantial amount of money. In the past, the only way to maintain a professional looking Web site was to hire someone to do it for you. However, when you outsource a job such as updating a Web site, you are not always the company's first priority and there is usually a large hourly rate or monthly retainer associated with the service. Content management software gives you the ability to do it yourself instantly, and at a fraction of the price. It also allows for several authors, giving you the ability to assign certain sections to the people that are best suited to input the information.

5.) Allows for Separation of Content, Structure, and Design. Normally, when wanting to redesign a Web site or change the structure, it is necessary to do a complete rebuild of the site, which can take a lot of time and money. With a CMS the design, content, and structure are separated. You can change the content without losing the design of the site, and you can change the design without losing the content.

6.) Work-at-home friendly. Everyone knows that you can't plan for the unexpected, but you can be prepared. Whether it be a doctor's visit or a sick child, neither can stop you from updating your site with a CMS. All you need to have is an Internet- accessible computer and a Web browser to make immediate updates to your Web site from anywhere.

7.) Increases consumer interaction. Content management software will give your business a greater ability to interact with your target audience. With a CMS you may choose to send out an online newsletter, which allows you to share any new progress in your business, special promotions, or general information about your company. You may also choose to create a contact form, interactive calendars of events, press releases systems, etc. A good CMS tool will enable you, the non-technical professional, to perform these and a myriad of other important (and often costly) Web site functions easily and affordably.